Best Lens for Canon T6i and T6s

It’s no secret that for you to succeed in photography, you have to invest in a reliable camera and lenses. This will guarantee to freeze your moment beautifully and preserve it for years to come.

In terms of choosing a camera, there are plenty of options to choose from. But before you can shop for it you have to decide first what type of camera you’re planning to buy – point-and-shoot, SLR, DSLR or mirrorless.

Point-and-shoot cameras, also known as compact cameras, are designed for simple operation. If you’re new in photography, this is a great camera to start with.

Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) camera is a film-based camera. This type of camera is commonly used by photographers with mid-range to professional skill level.

This type of camera uses a prism and mirror system that allows the photographer to view their subject through the lens. Once they press the shutter button, the mirror will flip, allowing light to pass through to the light receptor and capture the image.

Digital SLR camera is the preferred choice of most professional photographer. This is a combination of SLR’s mechanism and optic. Their only difference is, instead of film DSLR camera uses digital imaging sensor.

Mirrorless cameras work closely alike the DSLR camera. Their differences are it’s lightweight, uses an electronic viewfinder to show what the image sensor sees (SLR and DSLR has an Optical Viewfinder), and it doesn’t need a secondary autofocus mirror and light metering sensor because all of it is being done on the image sensor.

Though we stated a specific skill level for each type, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can only choose from that range. No! You can always choose whatever camera you want because each type offers a model that fits all skill level.

So even you have a beginner skill level, you can still use DSLR cameras as it offers entry-level models. Two of the best entry-level DSLR camera models are from Canon – EOS Rebel T6i and T6s.

Since Canon T6i and T6s are under the same manufacturer and released on the same month and year, they have plenty of similarities. One of those is the compatible lenses.

Canon T6i and T6s both have a lens mount of Canon EF/EF-S. Currently, there are a total of 299 available lenses for Canon EF/EF-S mount and 91 of it have image stabilization feature.

That’s a lot of lenses!

Don’t worry we’re not going to overwhelm you with 299 lenses information! In this article, we’re going to focus on Canon’s line of lenses that complement with Canon T6i and T6s strengths (which is shooting wildlife, portraits, and sports).

Review of the Best Lens for Canon T6i and T6s

Here are 5 of the best lenses for Canon T6i and T6s. The table below will show you a brief comparison of the specification of the 5 lenses:

Lens Type

Product Name

Weight

Focus Type

Lens Construction

Diaphragm
Blades

IS Stop Advantage

Price

Kit

EF-S 18-55MM F3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens

205g

Stepping Motor

13 elements in 11 groups

7 circular blade

4

Amazon

EF-S 18-135MM F3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens

480g

Stepping Motor

16 elements in 12 groups

7 circular blade

4

Amazon

Prime

EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

160g

Gear-type Stepping Motor

6 elements in 5 groups

7 circular blade

No IS

Amazon

Telephoto Zoom

EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens

630g

Micro USM

15 elements in 10 groups

8 circular blade

3

Amazon

Ultra Wide-Angle Zoom

EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Lens

240g

STM Motor, Rear Focusing System

14 elements in 11 groups

7 circular blade

4

Amazon

1. Kit Lenses

We will start this list by discussing the first ever lens every photographer’s own – a kit lens. Normally when you bought a new DSLR camera, there’s a kit lens included on it.

If you’re a professional photographer, you may not find this impressive because its functionalities are too basic. But for beginners, it was a great lens to start with.

For Canon T6i, the kit lens it usually comes with is EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM lens; while for Canon T6s is EF-S 18-135MM F3.5-5.6 IS STM lens.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM lens

Canon EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM lens barrel and bayonet is made from engineering plastic. This is the main factor it becomes lightweight and portable. It also designed with a switch where you can easily turn on and off the image stabilization, a zoom ring and a ring for manual focusing.

For its optical lens construction, it features 13 lens elements in 11 groups combined with 1 aspherical lens elements that help to correct diverse types of lens aberration. For the finishing, they applied a superior optic coating to lessen flare and ghosting.

This lens has 3 strengths: first, it can produce a beautiful bokeh because it has a 7-circular aperture. Second, it has a minimum focusing distance of 0.25m and 0.36x maximum magnification which helps the lens to be flexible in capturing the smallest details of the subjects in close range.

Lastly, it features hybrid AF sensor. So, during the shooting of your video, you can silent and fasten the autofocus.

The only downside of this lens is it’s not reliable when shooting in dark environment.

Canon EF-S 18-135MM F3.5-5.6 IS STM lens

Most of this lens is made from high-quality plastic, except for the lens mount which is made from metal. It is designed with 2 switches (1 for Autofocus and the other is for the image stabilization), a focusing ring attached near the lens, and a zoom ring with a lock. This is to avoid extending it unintentionally.

For its optical lens construction, it is similar with EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM lens. Its only difference is aside from aspherical lens element, it also has 1 UD lens element that helps to lessen color blurring and the magnification-type chromatic aberration.

One of the strengths of EF-S 18-135MM F3.5-5.6 IS STM lens is its’ newly adopt six-group zoom system and a Stepping Motor (STM). With this, this lens can guarantee to provide a faster, quieter and more precise autofocusing when shooting a video.

2. Prime Lenses

Unlike the other 3 lenses mentioned above, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens was built for durability as it is made with metal. While for its optical lens construction, it features 6 elements in 5 groups.

This is much lower compared to the other lenses mentioned above, but with its 50mm focal length angle of view (80mm equivalent when you used it in Canon T6i and T6s), it lets you capture your subject as natural as how your eyes can see it.

In addition to that, its wide aperture of f/1.8 allows more light to pass through the lens that results in sharper image quality with less motion blur effect. This also minimizes the need for using flash when shooting in a low light environment.

The disadvantage of this lens is its external focusing. It tends to extend unintentionally when focusing on close-ups.

3. Telephoto Zoom Lens

When it comes to shooting wildlife, sports or any fast-moving subjects, a telephoto zoom lens is a perfect choice! For Canon T6i and T6s, one of the best options is Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens is made from plastic. It’s designed with a zoom ring that’s equipped with a locking mechanism. This mechanism works by locking the zoom when it’s being used for wide-angle setting, shortest focal length setting or not in use.

The image stabilization of Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens has 2 modes: the first mode is used to keep the image steady on both horizontal and vertical axes; while the second mode is used while shooting a video. This mode will turn off the correction to prevent the unnecessary effect on your subject.

Aside from that, this lens also features a Gyro sensor that detects unwanted shakes or vibrations.

The only downside most of this lens’ users is its plastic built. But other than that, everyone enjoys using it in shooting wildlife.

4. Ultra Wide-Angle Zoom Lens

Canon T6i and T6s may be advantageous to use in portraits, wildlife, and sports. But it doesn’t mean that their capabilities are limited to that. If you’re the type of photographer who loves natures and landscapes, you can use these DSLR cameras as well with the help of an ultra-wide zoom lens.

An ultra-wide zoom lens has more compositional flexibility compared to other types of lenses. One of the best options for Canon T6i and T6s is EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens.

Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens is made from polycarbonate plastic with a wide rubber-coated ribbed zoom ring and a black finishing. While for its optical lens construction, it features 13 elements in 11 groups with an additional multi-layer lens coating to improved color balance, contrast, and lessen ghosting.

Performance-wise, Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens features a stepping motor with an updated focusing mechanism that guarantees uninterrupted AF even during video recording.

The only downside of this lens is it’s prone to barrel distortion. This is common for this kind of lenses but you can minimize it by zooming to longer focal lengths.

What are Lens Elements and Groups?

When you shop for lenses, some of the details you will encounter are lens elements and groups. These may not be as important as aperture control and focal length, but knowing what the lens is made off is worth noting.

Lens element refers to the number of glass elements that certain lens has. The purpose of these glass elements is to minimize the occurrence of aberration resulting in a sharp image. While groups consist of different shaped and sized lenses that work together to have a better control of the light and therefore limit the occurrence of distortion.

Conclusion

Finding the right lens can really be exhausting. But we hope after reading this review, you’ll able to make a decision on what to buy.

If we have to choose the best lens for Canon T6i and T6s from the lenses above, it will be Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens.

This isn’t an easy choice because we also find Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens as an ideal choice. It’s flexible to use in different type of photography, reliable, has a fast and smooth operation when shooting fast-action movements or subjects, and portable too.

But when it comes to Canon T6i and T6s needs and capabilities, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens is the perfect match. Aside from the usual features that Canon equipped with their lenses, there are 3 points that stand out and these are:

Telephoto Lens

Every professional photographer knows that when it comes to shooting wildlife or sports, a telephoto lens is the one to use! This is because it allows the photographer to capture any subjects from afar and make it look closer.

Not only that a telephoto lens is also known for its ability to create a beautiful bokeh and flattering portraits. This is one of the reasons it became a perfect lens for Canon T6i and T6s.

Creates a more appealing background blur

Compared to the other 4 lenses, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens has more diaphragm blades. These 8 circular blades are the one responsible for providing out-of-focus areas a softer touch allowing the in-focus subjects stand out against a blurred background.

Low distortion rate

Distortion is a common problem for large-range of zoom lenses. For telephoto lenses, the type of distortion that may occur is pincushion distortion. But you don’t need to worry about it for Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens because the occurrence of distortion at 70mm to 300mm is very low.

If there’s a case that it is noticeable, you can remove the distortion with software correction like Photoshop.